The Rider is Coming
by Ryanwan
Summary: Ashe Blaze, son of Johnny Blaze, has come to Kuoh, along with his crimson haired daughter, Sofi. Soon enough, they’ll meet Rias and her peerage. With Ashe inheriting the Ghost Rider from his father, their lives will never again be the same again.
1. Arrival

**I decided to republish this story and give it a second chance. No harem, RiasxOC.**

**I own only my original characters, nothing else.**

The plane landed and a man and his niece were amongst those to disembark. The man was about twenty or so, five feet eleven inches, well built, wore all black. Black long sleeve shirt and hoodie with the sleeves rolled up, black jeans, tucked into black military boots. He had slight long black hair with orange tips, deep blue eyes and a short beard.

The girl was about four years old, she had long crimson red hair and deep eyes. She had on blue jeans, a pink long sleeve shirt.

He carried her in his arms as he had on his duffel bag of their luggage on his shoulder.

"Where are we, Daddy?," the girl asked.

"Kuoh," Ashe answered. "We're in Japan."

They exited the plane and were led to the loading bay, where Ashe's chopper, (Harley-Davidson Hydra Glide).

"Ready?," Ashe asked as he and puts Sofi on the bike after going through the paperwork that went along with having it flown with them. She nodded excitedly as he had her hands on the handles.

He chuckled at this and he got on behind her and placed his hands over hers gently. He started it up and they went roaring out of the parking lot and down the street. They decided to just drive around town and try to get familiar with the town. As they drive along, Ashe began to see in some neighborhoods that there was much crime around them, but he also saw some other strange things.

"Whoa, Daddy look!," Sofi said and he stopped to see what she was looking at.

It was a massive property, with a what looked a large mansion. He then saw kids younger than himself in matching uniforms walking around it.

"What is this place?"

"Looks like a school," he answered, then saw a sign that said 'Kuoh Academy'."Yeah, definitely a school."

Then he took notice of one student, who noticed him as well. An incredibly beautiful woman with long crimson red hair. Beside her was girl almost as beautiful with long black hair in two ponytails. Ashe and the redhead just stared at each other for the longest time before Sofi intervened.

"Uh... Earth to Daddy?," she said and he snapped out of his daze. "You were staring at that one girl."

"I was?," he asked and she nodded. "Oops."

"Well she was staring at you too."

"...Let's just get a move on, huh?"

With that, he started his bike back up and drove off. Little did he know that the girl was still watching him.

"Hey, Rias," the black haired girl said, finally getting her attention.

"Yes?" she asked, making her friend giggle.

"You were still staring at that handsome biker, even though he's gone now."

"I most certainly was not, Akeno!!"

Akeno rolled her eyes and they continued walking.

"Though I do wonder who he was," Rias said.

"Yeah, I've never seen him around before," Akeno agreed. "Kid was adorable though!!"

"She most definitely was. But... didn't she look like me almost? With the hair?"

"... Yeah... yeah she kinda did. But when he was there... did you feel a strange darkness for a moment?"

"I did. It's stronger than I've ever felt before and I think I may know what it is. Let's keep an eye on them, shall we?"

"Yes, president," Akeno said.

Ashe and Sofi moved on and drove to a nice little neighborhood. There they drove into the driveway of their new home. It was a couple story high, with the primary color on the outside being white, just like the other houses around it. It had a second-floor deck and a large garage as well.

The inside was quite nice as well, all up to kitchen equipment, but no utensils or anything. No furniture or tv, as they had just moved in and did not have any such things as of now.

"Wow!! This place is amazing!!," Sofi exclaimed.

"Yeah... it's not bad at all. Just needs us and a couple more things."

They began to get settled in as best they could. Ashe got out the sleeping bags they had and laid them out in the middle of the living room. He turned to see Sofi looking around with an unsure look growing on her face. Even though she thought the place was great, Ashe could tell that this was a lot for her. He walked over to her and knelt down to her height.

"Hey... I know this is a lot to take in all at once," he said placing his hands on her shoulders. "But I promise to make a life for us here. To make a life for you."

"I know...," she said hugging her father. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, sweetie. I'll do my best to make sure this is the last time we move."

He kisses her forehead and they get back to work just as the doorbell rings. They walked over and answered it to see the black haired girl from before, and Ashe hesitated once he saw her.

"Hello, my name is Akeno Himejima," she said. "I was one of the girls you saw coming out of Kuoh Academy."

"...Oh yes, that's right. Ashe Blaze," he said

"It's nice to meet you, handsome," she said back, smiling seductively. "Wait a minute... Blaze? Like Johnny Blaze? The famous daredevil?"

"He was my father. How can I help you?"

"Oh my friend, Rias and I had never seen you or your... sister, right?"

"She's my daughter."

"Oh... really?," she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. That's the usual reaction. But yeah, she's my baby girl. You were saying?"

"We just wanted to welcome you to Kuoh and if there's anything the Occult Research Club, or ORC, can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."

"Hi...," Sofi said, walking over to them and his behind her father's legs.

"Hello, there," Akeno said, kneeling down to her level.

"I'm Akeno. What might your name be?"

"...I'm Sofi."

"That is the cutest name. You know, you kinda look like Rias, my best friend, when she was a kid."

"Really?," Sofi asked and Akeno nodded.

"Yeah, that actually is interesting," Ashe said and the raven haired girl stood up again. "Hey, I know that we've only just met but I was wondering..."

"Yes?," she asked.

"If you knew anyone who babysits? You see, I need to find a job and I don't want to drag Sofi all over town looking for one."

"Oh I think Rias wouldn't mind if we watched her."

"W-What? Really?"

"Of course. I did say that there's no need to hesitate in asking us for help."

"Hmm... you did say that," he said. "Okay then, how much do you think this Rias would want?"

"Oh don't worry about that. Rias' family is rather wealthy," Akeno said. "So when should we pick her up?"

"Perhaps in a few hours. My interview is tonight."

"Of course," she said. "Well, Sofi, looks like you get to spend some time with me and Rias and the rest of our little family?"

"Are they nice like you?"

"Oh, yes!! They are all very good people, though Koneko can be easily annoyed. It's cute though."

This earned a giggle from the girl.

"I'm afraid that I must leave now. See you later... handsome," she said, rubbing a hand across his chest and he slapped it away and so she whispered something. "Haha... I love the game of hard to get."

She smiled at Sofi and Akeno turned walking away, Ashe watching her suspiciously until she was out of sight.

"She's nice," Sofi said.

"...She's dangerous," Ashe said before closing the door.

Akeno looked around to see if she was out of view from everyone and then teleported back to Gremory Household.

"Well?," Rias asked.

"Well, he's handsome and likes to play hard to get," she began to say.

"I meant who is he and is he a threat?"

"His name is Ashe Blaze, son of the famous daredevil Johnny Blaze. The little girl was his daughter, Sofi."

"His daughter? Interesting as he only looks a few years older than us. But Johnny Blaze... why does that name sound familiar?"

"Well, like I said, he was a famous daredevil," Akeno said.

"No, besides that. Granted he was a very gifted and fortunate daredevil. Anything else?"

"Well... he said he needed someone to watch his daughter tonight... and I said we'd be happy to."

"...And you told him this without consulting me?," Rias asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe we can learn some more information about Ashe from Sofi," Akeno reasoned. "And also he doesn't have anyone to watch her for he goes to his job interview."

"What about her mother?"

"From what I saw it was just them. Especially since we only saw them on that bike."

"...Very well. I will pick her up."

"Want a closer look at him huh?," Akeno teased and Rias just rolled her eyes. "Can't say I that blame you. He said to pick her up in a few hours so we can relax for now."

She nodded as the other members of the ORC arrived. Yuuto Kiba, a boy that goes to Kuoh Academy like the girls, with slightly long blonde hair. The other was a girl of about thirteen years of age, with shoulder length silver hair, Koneko Toujou. Another girl looking to be about sixteen or so with long blonde hair, Asia Argento, and then a boy with slightly long brown and a perverted grin almost always on his face, especially when around the girls, this was Issei Hyondou.

"Kiba, we'll be have a guest over tonight so can you have a room ready?," Rias said and he nodded and went to do so.

"Who is it, Rias?," Issei asked.

"Oh this cute little girl-," Akeno began to say before Issei interrupted her.

"A new girl for my harem?! Awesome!!"

This earned him a pan to the head from Asia.

"You're so mean, Issei!!," she yelled. "And also you didn't let Akeno finish."

"Well, I was gonna say that this cute little girl, who is four years old, will be staying here for the night, if necessary, right Rias?"  
"So it would seem. And let us all agree to never discuss that Issei thought of putting a four year old into his harem, even if he didn't know. I'm quite sure the girl's father would try to kill him."

Everyone seemed to agree with this and they went on their daily routine. A few hours past and it was now time to pick up their guest.

"I'll be back soon," Rias said. "I expect everyone to be on their best behavior. I'm talking to you, Issei. No talking about perverted or inappropriate things."

"Hey, I don't only just talk about stuff like that!!"

"Surprising," Koneko commented.

Rias shook her head at them and teleported away to the address Akeno gave her. She walked over to the house and she was about to knock before she hesitated for a moment. She shook it off and the door then opened before she could knock. Now she was face to face with the man she had seen that morning.

"Hello. You must be Rias, right?," Ashe asked.

"I am indeed. Rias Gremory," she said reaching out her hand for him to take, which he slowly did so.

"Ashe Blaze. Would you like to come in for a moment?"

She nodded and he let her through and saw there wasn't much in the house.

"Yeah, we just moved in today. Kinda why I needed someone to watch Sofi."

"Understandable. So, where did you move from, if I may ask?"

"America. No specific area, really. My Dad's business had us moving around a lot."

"Your father was Johnny Blaze, correct?," she asked and he nodded a a little girl came downstairs.

"Hey, sweetie," Ashe said and picked up the girl up.

"This is Rias, that friend Akeno spoke of."

"Yeah, it's the girl you were staring at," she said innocently, making both Ashe and Rias blushed slightly.

"Yyyeah... okay. Rias, this... is my daughter, Sofi."

"Hello, Sofi. Very nice to meet you."

"Your hair is very pretty."

"Aw... thank you very much, so is yours," she said back and Sofi blushed at this. "So I suppose we ought to get going then. Shall we?"

"Alright. Okay, you be a good girl for Rias and her friends. I'll see you in the morning," he said, kissing his daughter's head. "Love you."

"Love you too, Daddy," Sofi said, making Rias smile a little as she took her in her arms.

"Thanks again."

"Of course. I do hope you get the job," Rias said and they began to walk away.

As they left, Ashe began to feel it again. He grunted slightly in pain, but he kept it down and went back inside.

The sun soon vanished completely as Rias and Sofi, who was now walking, but was holding Rias' hand, reached Gremory Household.

"Whoa!! You live here?!!," Sofi exclaimed.

"Mm-hmm, family household. Come, let's go meet my servants."

"Servants?"

"As well as my friends," Rias explained.

They soon got inside, where everyone was sitting down in the living area until they saw Rias had returned.

"Welcome back, Rias," Akeno said.

"Hi, Akeno!!," Sofi exclaimed.

"Hi, Sofi!!"

"Everyone, this is Sofi Blaze," Rias said. "Sofi, these are my friends, servants and the rest of the ORC. You know Akeno, then Kiba, Koneko, Asia and Issei."

"Hi, everyone...," she said, now a little shy and hiding behind Rias a little.

"It's okay, Sofi. They're very nice people. But how about we get you something to eat, huh?"

She nodded excitedly, making everyone chuckle and they all walked towards the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Ashe stood at the counter in the kitchen of his home, looking at picture of him and an infant Sofi, along with an old man, Johnny Blaze, leaning against his bike, which was now his. But as he looked, his hands began to shake, heat was flaring up over and over in his body.

"No... not tonight...," he said, struggling to fight through the pain.

It was useless, though. He slammed his hands against the counter as he threw the picture aside and his face began to change.

A few moment later, there was a large explosion coming out of the garage, totaling the garage door and the fires would've burned down the house had they not gone out almost immediately. Soon, people came out to see the damage and then saw a line of flames going down the middle of the street.

All the while, a man in a dark red hooded trench coat and with a cane with a devil figurehead on it, as well as another pale man in a tattered black outfit watched from afar.

"Ha... so this is where he went...," the pale man said.

"Yes... quite convenient, really," the man in red said. "Continue watching him. Inform me of any interesting information."

The man then touched the tree he standing next too and quickly the leaves turned brown and fell as the trunk lost its bark and turned pale before becoming nothing but slivers of wood.

The other man simply smirked and teleported away.

Back at the Gremory Household, Sofi was having a great time. She mainly played with Akeno and Asia, though she would spend time with Rias. Now, they were in her office, talking as she did some paperwork.

"Sofi, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of job is your father trying to get?," Rias asked.

"I don't know. All he said was that he'd make a life for us here," she answered.

"Sounds like he loves you very much."

"Uh-huh. We've been moving around ever since Grandpa died."

"Johnny Blaze?," Rias asked, and Sofi nodded. "I didn't hear that he died."

"Daddy said that he didn't want people to make big deal out of it," she said. "I hope we stay here though. I like it here. I already made a lot of friends."

This just made the redhead smile as Kiba walked in.

"Uh, Lady Rias?," he said, and she looked at him. "You might want to come and see this."

She looked at strangely before she and Sofi walked out of her office and went over to where everyone was, in the living area with the news on. It was reporting lines of flames all around Kuoh. And that they had traces of sulfur as well.

"...Akeno, Issei, get ready to go," Rias said and they left to do so.

"You're leaving?," Sofi asked, sounding disappointed and Rias knelt down in front of her.

"Yes, but I will return as soon as I can."

"You promise?"

"I promise," she said and Sofi stuck out her pinky finger, making Rias chuckle and she wrapped pinky around hers.

She then left to get herself ready and once they were out of Sofi's line of sight, they teleported to one of the tracks.

"Oh, man!!! What is that smell?!!," Issei yelled. "Smells like rotten eggs!!"

"It's the sulfur, Issei. Now, shush! I'm trying to concentrate," Rias said as she inspected the flames just before they went out and her eyes widened. "It can't be... then that means..."

"Means what?," Akeno asked.

"...The Rider is in Kuoh."

The raven-haired girl's eyes widened at this and a chill went down her spine. Issei however, was at a loss.

"Uhh... the what?"

"The Ghost Rider. The Spirit of Vengeance, Punisher of the Guilty," Rias said. "The bane of all devils, angels and fallen angels."

Just then they heard some people screaming. They all spread their wings and flew up to a rooftop near source of the screaming to see a couple getting mugged in a park.

"Money and jewelry, now!!," the mugger yelled as he pistol whipped the guy and knocked him to the ground.

When they still failed to give him their money, he pushed them both down and pointed his gun at him.

"You should've listened."

Then some sort of ringing noise was heard and soon a fiery motorcycle came down and landed near them. After a moment, the biker placed his foot on the ground, digging into it. Then he flipped over the bike and he could be seen completely.

He towered over them, well over six feet, in all black clothing, black hooded trench coat with the hood up, had claw like gloves on with spikes on the knuckles and forearms, spikes on the shoulders as well. His his hands were long spikes chains, but was more surprising was his face. It was in flames, as was the rest of his body, but face was down to the bone, making his head a skull, and he kept the hood up as well. His bike was mainly silver in color and had a demonic shape to it, the tires and face in the front of the bike were on fire as well, (bike from the first Ghost Rider).

"What the...?," Issei said as they watched all of this commence.

"That... is the Ghost Rider," Rias said.

The Rider gestured the couple to leave and he pointed at the mugger.

"**You... guilty**," he said and out of fear, the guy began shooting at him, but the bullets simply melted on his chest at impact, not even hurting him. "**That tickles**."

He walked over to him, picked him up and pinned him against a tree.

"**Look into my eyes. Your souls is stained by the blood of the innocent... feel their pain!!!**"

Soon enough, the man began screaming in pain as all of the bad stuff he'd done began playing over and over behind his eyes, scorching them like embers, indicating that his soul had been scorched as well. When it was complete, the Rider simply threw him aside and he exploded into dust on impact with the ground.

He began to walk back to his bike when he caught something in the corner of where his eyes should be. He turned to see the three devils and for the briefest moment, his flames went blue when he saw Rias, but then back to normal and he just growled under his breath before riding off.

"Now I remember what's so familiar with the name Johnny Blaze," Rias said after a moment. "He was the Ghost Rider."

"Was?," Issei said.

"He's dead. But I have an idea as to who is the new Rider."

"You don't mean...," Akeno said but she nodded.

"His son, Ashe. He'll stop riding when the sun comes up. We'll have someone keep an eye on him and we'll bring him home when he changes back. Until then, we might as well go before he comes after us."

They both nodded and they teleported home.

By the time they'd come home though, it was quite late and the others had put Sofi to bed in her guest room.

"How was she?," Rias asked Asia.

"She was an angel," she said ironically. "But she did miss you. She's taken quite a liking to you."

Rias smiled at this and walked over to the bed and soon Sofi opened her eyes and she grinned.

"Rias!!," she yelled and hugged her, but soon fell back asleep, making the crimson-haired girl chuckle and she placed back in bed.

"Goodnight, Sofi," she said softly.

She then left and she saw Akeno grinning at her.

"I think you've got a soft spot for her," she said.

"Don't you?," she asked.

"Ohhh yeah. But it is so cute watching you two interact."

She just rolled her eyes at her best friend and they both continued about their night.

The next morning, the Ghost Rider began riding out of town as the sun came up. But he soon stopped and got off as the bike turned back to normal. He began screaming as he slowly shrunk and his skin grew back to reveal none other than Ashe Blaze. Once he'd turn back to normal, he simply laid down looking upwards, and noticed that he'd conveniently stopped in front of the Gremory Household. A moment later, Rias appeared above him.

"Good morning, Mr. Blaze," she said kneeling down next to him. "I believe you and I have much to discuss."

He said nothing to this and soon passed out.

She then had Koneko pick him up and brought him into her room, just as Kiba places several cups of water on the nightstand.

"What's with the water?," Issei asked.

"How would you feel after having your skull on fire for the whole night?," Koneko snapped.

"Knock it off. We need to wait until he wakes up. Seems as though that he hasn't changed in a while now, that's why he's unconscious. I'll stay here with him. You go and keep Sofi company when she wakes up."

They nodded, though some of them were grinning mischievously at her. Once they were gone, she removed his clothes, then her own and laid down in bed with him.

'_Interesting turn of events_,' she thought to herself as she fell asleep for a little bit.


	2. Awakening

**Chapter 2.**

**I own only my original characters, nothing else. I don't own Ghost Rider.**

Ashe awoke to find himself in an unknown room and completely naked. He looked to the right corner of his eye and then saw an equally naked Rias.

He quickly looked away, panicking slightly. He then saw several cups of water on the nearby nightstand, and he quickly began drinking as his skull felt like it was on fire. Once he'd finished, he began to get dressed.

As he did so, he heard yawning and turns to see Rias was waking up and stretching, and then got up, not covering anything up. Ashe once again looked away.

"Good morning, Ashe," Rias said.

"Good morning," he said back, still looking away, which makes Rias giggle.

"What's wrong? Most boys would love to get a glimpse of my body."

"I'm not like most boys."

"Yes, that much is very true. Especially since you are the Rider," she said and his eyes widened and he turned to look back at her in surprise and he saw that she was now in her underwear, putting in her bra. "Would you get this for me, please?"

He slowly walks over and latches the bra for her.

"In case you're wondering... nothing happened last night."

"Hmm... I'm sure the Rider wouldn't even think of doing something like that," he said. "So why were we in bed together, naked?"

"I can't sleep with clothing on and direct skin contact is the best way for me to heal you."

"Huh... okay then. Wait, where's Sofi?!"

"She is perfectly fine," Rias said. "She was an absolute angel to us last night. She's probably downstairs with everyone else. Follow me."

He nodded and they both went downstairs to find them all waiting for them, all ready for the day.

"Daddy!!!," Sofi yelled and ran over to Ashe and he picked her up. "Good morning, Rias!!"

"Good morning, Sofi," she said with a smile.

"Hey, sweetie. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, they're all my friends now."

"I'm glad. Why don't you go and do some more exploring okay? I need to talk to Rias and others."

"Oh, okay."

"Asia, could you go with her?," Rias asked and she nodded and she got up and took Sofi's hand.

Once they walked out, all eyes were on Ashe.

"...Based off the look of fear in most of your eyes, I'd say you know what I am. Which also means that you're all devils. Am I right?," he asked.

"That's right," Rias answered. "I shall go straight to the point. Why are you here?"

"I'm running from Mephisto."

"...Oh."

"I'm at a loss again. Who's Mephisto?," Issei asked.

"Well, kid who is more than likely a pervert," Ashe began, earning a snicker from Koneko. "Mephistopheles is what humans normally consider to be _the _devil. He's an incredibly powerful devil who kidnapped the Angel of Justice, Zarathos, and drove him insane."

"And created the Ghost Rider," Akeno finished.

"Quite. So in other words, he's the one who made me and my father like this. Moving on... where am I and who are the rest of you? I know only Rias and Akeno."

"Well, Ashe, you're in the Gremory Household. I would like you to meet my peerage," Rias said. "As you said, you know Akeno, my Queen, then there's Yuuto Kiba, my Knight, Koneko Toujou, my Rook. Issei Hondou makes up all eight of my Pawn pieces."

"Let me guess... Asia is your Bishop," he guessed and she nodded.

"I'm also the Red Dragon Emperor and future Harem King," Issei added.

"...Good for you. Just don't talk about harems and other such things around my daughter. Now where is Grace?"

"Who's Grace?," Akeno asked.

"My bike."

"You named your bike Grace?," Koneko questioned.

"Not me. My grandfather, Barton Blaze, did. That bike is a family heirloom."

"Well, it is out in the garage," Rias informed him. "Kiba, can you show him to it?"

"No need, I'll check on it later. No doubt you've got a lot of questions," Ashe guessed.

"Indeed. First off... why here exactly? Why Kuoh?," Rias asked.

"The Rider needs to feed or else he takes over out of nowhere. Kuoh is infested with Fallen Angels and Stray Devils, as well as human criminals. So... perfect hunting grounds for the Spirit of Vengeance. And... I thought I should get Sofi away from America. Especially after Dad died."

"And you inherited the Rider from him, right?," issei guessed.

"Well... I guess you could say that...," Ashe said and began to tell the story as to how he became the Ghost Rider as the memories flashed through his mind.

Flashback

_Ashe was finishing up working on Grace as Sofi slept on an inflatable bed nearby._

_Johnny Blaze has just died a week before and they both were taking it badly. Sadly, this did not stop the press from hounding them and so they were hiding from them in the middle of nowhere at their family vacation home. They were both in the garage as they felt closest to Johnny there._

_Ashe looked to his left to look at the picture of him, Sofi and his father together, and smiled sadly. He turned to his daughter, sound asleep._

'We can't stay here forever,' _he thought to himself._

_All of a sudden, the air grew cold, and he began to vaguely hear the sound of streetlights breaking._

_He grabbed a wrench and quickly walked outside to see a man in red with devilish cane walking towards._

_"...Mephisto," he growled._

_"Ashe Blaze...," he said, and pulled down his hood to reveal man looking only a few years older than Ashe, with slightly long red hair with black tips. "I've heard so much about you. Look at you... so much like your father. My condolences, by the way. Oh, and is that Sofi?! She is beautiful!"_

_"You stay away from her!! Now what do you want from me?"_

_"Ah, straight to business. I've always liked that about your family. Put down that wrench and we'll talk."_

_"Ha... I don't think so," he said and not a second later, the wrench began to rust away in his hand. "What the-?"_

_"Pretty neat, huh?," a pale man in tattered clothing said, flying down to the ground with pale wings. "Name's Blackout, kid."_

_"Quiet now. The child is asleep," Mephisto said, and he nodded._

_"I don't care what either of you has to say. You killed my grandfather, and cursed my father. Get out of here!!"_

_He storms over to punch Mephisto, but a sudden gust of wind pushed him back and he landed near a puddle, which then held him in place and the rocks around him pulled him up to his knees. Then three new devils appeared, one in a black and light red outfit and long wavy hair, another in a brown trench coat and was completely soaked, and the other had cracks in his face like rocks and wore a grey long coat, all of them had devil wings as well._

_"Allow me to introduce my Pawns, Abigor, Wallow and Gressil. Blackout is my Knight. And the one behind you, is my Queen as well as my son, Blackheart."_

_He turned to look behind him as best he could and a man seemingly covered by shadows and had glowing red eyes, and wore an all black suit, grabbed his face and held him in place._

_"Come now," Blackheart said. "You don't want anything to happen to your sweet little daughter, do you?"_

_A look of fear grew in his eyes and he quickly stopped struggling._

_"...What do you want from me?," Ashe asked._

_"Your father's contract is still in place," Mephisto said as he walked over and Blackheart pulled him to his feet. "His blood... is still on it. Your blood is his. You must take his place. But always know that we'll be watching."_

_He pressed finger to Ashe's heart as Blackheart let go and backed away. Ashe's eyes immediately began to glow like embers._

_"Forget about friends... forget about family... forget about love. Like your father before you... you're mine, Ashe Blaze."_

_He touched him again, and he fell to his knees in slight pain. When he looked up again, he saw that they were all gone. Ashe picked himself up and got his bike and himself ready quietly and gently woke his daughter up._

_"Mmm... Daddy? What's wrong?," she asked._

_"Sweetie, we gotta go," he said._

_"Where?"_

_"...I'm not sure. Wherever the road takes us I guess. We just can't stay here anymore."_

_She nodded and they finished packing and they got into Grace and began driving off, leaving the last piece of their old life behind._

Present Day

"That was all a year ago," Ashe said, finishing his story. "We've been on the run ever since."

"...I'm sorry, Ashe," Rias said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did not ask for any of this. But, if you'd like, you can stay with us if you wish. I don't mind at all."

"Well... that interview was technically the only way I was gonna be able to keep that house, so... I suppose I could. But I don't want Sofi to ever know about the Rider."

Everyone nodded, understanding his reasons for not telling his daughter, just as she returned with Asia.

"Hey, sweetie," he said, picking her up. "My interview didn't go well so... Rias said that we could stay here with her and her friends."

"Really?!!," she yelled, looking at Rias, who nodded. "Yay!!! Wait, what about our stuff?"

"You can go and get whatever you need. I'll give you a key to the Household," Rias said. "I'd have someone go and get your things for you but sadly, we must get going. It's a school day."

"That's fine," Ashe assured her. "Thank you, Rias. For everything."

"You're welcome. Welcome to my family. By the way, how did your father die? Just curious."

"...Cancer."

She slowly nodded and they all left for school.

"Come on, if we're gonna be staying here, we'll need to get our stuff from our old house," Ashe said and he began walking to the garage to find that his bike was there.

They got on and quickly sped over to their house, passing many police cars along the way.

"What's going on, Daddy?," Sofi asked.

"...I don't know. But those tracks we passed lead to our house. Someone must've been hiding here. Let's get our stuff before someone sees us."

She nodded and they quickly walked inside and grabbed their stuff, including the picture of them with Johnny. And as quickly as they arrived, they left before anyone noticed.

"Let's stay in the mansion for a while. Just to be safe," Ashe said and Sofi nodded.

They decided to walk around the mansion, figure out where everything was and learn their way around. Sofi pulled her father down to the other side to show him her room, which was almost as large as his own.

"I can't believe this is all mine now!!," Sofi exclaimed happily and Ashe just smiled at this, but he knew he needed to tell her.

"Listen, Sofi," he said, getting on one knee and she looked at him. "I'm telling you this now because you may hear some strange things around this place. Rias, Akeno and the others... they're all devils."

"They don't look like devils."

"Ha... no they don't. Humans have too wild of an imagination sometimes. Now these devils seem to be alright for now, but I want you to be careful, okay?"

She nodded and they continued to walk around.

After making themselves something for lunch, Sofi fell asleep sometime later and Ashe took her to bed. Afterwards, he took a look around himself and got himself associated with where everything was in the place, or at least where the rooms were and whose room was who's.

Later on, he came across Rias's office. Of course he is respectful and does not disturb anything, but he does briefly glimpse at what was on her desk. Beginnings of a research on the Rider.

"...And just what exactly are you doing in my office?!," a voice asked, causing him to look at the doorway and see that Rias and the others had returned.

"To put it plainly, I was merely exploring the mansion and this was the next room," he answered, walking out to stand next to her. "I touched nothing, if that's what you're concerned about."

"...I thank you for being respectful. Please, don't waltz into my office again without permission."

"Of course. And all you need do is ask me about the Rider, should you wish to know more. Now, I've felt the presence of more than just the Gremory Family when I arrived. Who else is here?"

"Sona Sitri of the Sitri Family. She's school president of Kuoh Academy and King of her own peerage. She and her queen will be coming over momentarily to speak with you."

"You mean interrogate me?," he said as they began to walk back into the living area.

"Merely speak with you," she assured him and he accepted this. "Where is Sofi?"

"Asleep. So... why don't you tell me what your peerage is like?"

"Well... as you know, Akeno is my Queen-."

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I wasn't specific. What are they like, personality-wise?"

"Ah. Akeno is flirtatious, somewhat sadistic and into some for lack of a better term, kinky things. Issei, well... we both know what he's like. But he's a nice guy once you get to know him and get past his perverted attitude. Kiba is a complete, total gentleman. Asia is a sweetheart and Koneko is..."

"Private?," he guessed.

"That is definitely one way to put it," she said back. "Now I must ask... where is Sofi's mother?"

This caused him to go silent and stand still.

"I am sorry if I brought up bad memories. I had no idea that she-."

"No, it's not that. This isn't sorrow on my face. It's shame."

"Shame?"

"...In all honesty, I have no idea who or where Sofi's mother is. Or if she's even alive," he began explaining as they continued walking. "You see, Sofi was left at mine and my father's doorstep with a note saying that she was my daughter. No name or anything."

"How do you know that she is really is your daughter?," she asked.

"I had a paternity test done and it was a match. Not that it would've mattered. I'd have taken care of her whether she was my daughter or not. I'm not a monster... not most of the time anyway."

Rias stopped and made him look at her.

"Never. You are never a monster."

"I am afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on that," he said, but she was firm on her statement.

"No... you are _not _a monster," she said and he smiled slightly at this and they continued walking. "So what was your father like?"

"He... he did the best he could to raise me right. And he did. Wisest man I've ever met, but like most of us, he was flawed."

"Sounds like he was a good man."

"He was."

They then headed downstairs to the living area, where everyone else was. They began to talk and got to know each other a bit more. A little while later, Sofi woke up to see that everyone was back, and immediately ran over to Rias, who picked her up.

"Yay, you're back!!," she exclaimed, making everyone smile a little, even Koneko slightly.

They all continued to talk and play, having a great time. Then the sun went down and nighttime came and Ashe noticed how on edge Issei had gotten around him when this happened, and so he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and whispered something to him.

"I can usually change at will," he explained. "Its only at night and when I'm in the presence of evil when the Rider truly takes over."

He slowly nodded, relaxing a bit after hearing this. Ashe released him and sat down next to Rias as she watched Sofi and Asia try to get Koneko to play with her.

"What did you say to him?," she asked.

"Just assuring him that I'm not gonna incinerate him."

"Hm... the mansion is being watched."

"I know. Blackout is watching us, Mephisto's Knight. He's always watching us. Why don't we make it challenging for him, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"How about the next time that you're free, we go out and have some lunch? Just the two of us?," he asked.

"Are you asking me out on a date?," she asked, blushing ever so slightly at the thought.

"If that's how you want to see it as. If not, you can see it as a friend taking you out to eat. A treat, if you will."

"...Very well. Tomorrow is Saturday, so how does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect."

As they talked, a certain raven-haired girl watched them with a smirk.

Later that night, Sofi began to get sleepy, so Ashe picked her up and brought her back to her room.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he said as he placed his daughter in her bed.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Sofi said tiredly. "Can you tell Rias and everybody I said goodnight?"

"Hmhm... I will. I'm glad you love your new friends so much."

She smiled as she fell asleep and Ashe walked away as Rias walks over to him.

"Hello Ashe," she said. "I completely forgot to have a room readied for you so you'll have to sleep in my bed again."

"Very well."

They walked back to her room and Ashe stripped down to his undergarments while Rias obviously stripped down naked as he got into the bed and she then unexpectedly rested her head on his chest.

"Comfortable?," he asked.

"Yes," she replied with a smirk. "You don't mind, right?"

"...I suppose not. Goodnight, Rias, and thank you once again."

"Goodnight and you're welcome," she said before they both fell asleep.

**Hope you like this. Don't expect the next chapter soon. I'm gonna be focusing on other stories for now. Whenever the next one is up, see ya later.**


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